http://mvmpartners.com/blog Advice for entrepreneurs on how to build and finance a start-up. Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:12:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en матрациWhen I was all of 19 I purchased my first home.  I got it for a pretty decent price, but it was definitely what one would call a handyman’s special.  I spent the next few years cleaning, repairing what I could, cleaning some more, hiring contractors to repair what I ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=247 I see a lot of cold email pitches.  A whole lot of them.  And I have to assume each and every one of them is legitimate.  Even if they sound like a Nigerian cash scam, it is my job to believe these are real entrepreneurs reaching out in the hopes ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=240 This is a very interesting article about the pending transformation of venture capital.  I very much agree with the primary messages.  Too large of funds and lousy returns combined with lack of liquidity will continue to drive LP’s to put their dollars elsewhere which will accelerate the massive contraction of ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=229 I have to imagine most of the readers of our blog are pretty up to speed on what we like to accelerate: technology-based company, SoCal-based, strong CTO type, good market dynamics, capital efficient, and maybe most important, a working product with some proof of customer demand.  We have generally tried ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=226 I am often asked about business plans (whether to write them, what format, how to know if a business idea is legitimate, etc). There are lots of right answers (and wrong answers) to this question.  For purposes of this short note, I'd like to recommend a tool that is in use ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=221 In product development, conventional wisdom tells us that we need to constantly ask our customers, “What do you want?”  We listen carefully to the answers, prioritize those that get the most requests, and we turn around and build them.  Within a few months, we have a killer product.  Product development ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=205 Entrepreneurial Optimism After 20 years of building entrepreneurial ventures I have had no choice but to be a devout optimist.  The challenges are overwhelming, the naysayers abound but we as entrepreneurs persist.  Over this period I have personally been involved in over a dozen start-up ventures with two-thirds of those under ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=202 Will it and it will be so.  Sounds crazy - but then again what isn’t in the world of entrepreneurship?   I have been accused of being a naïve optimist, seeing the world through rose colored glasses, drinking the Kool-Aid and various other clichés for someone who always is looking for ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=200 Recently, the website, "PerfectBusiness.com" did a series of interviews with the team at Momentum.  Check them out at: Andy Wilson Interview Stu MacFarlane Interview Matt Ridenour Interview http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=192 Yesterday's VentureBeat had an article suggesting that the old "2 and 20" method of compensation should be changed.   Unfortunately, they suggest that perhaps fees should be reset across the board.  It seems that while the larger investment community is finally focused on the problem of mega-funds that they are missing ... http://mvmpartners.com/blog/?p=190